Rosedale

History

In July 1853, John Little and his family made camp with their large herd of sheep overlanded from New South Wales and selected a site overlooking a large creek (now known as Baffle Creek). John Little's wife, Catherine, suggested the name "Rosedale" for the property and a vertical slab house, stock yards, sheep pens and "other barricades against the blacks" was constructed in 1854. Lieutenant John Murray of the Native Police married John Little's daughter, Rachel. After a raid by the Native Police, the Murray family adopted an Aboriginal child who was found in a hollow log. On one occasion, the Littles themselves surprised "a large tribe of blacks..surprising them by discharging our firearms in the midst of them". On 29 August 1863 John Little was struck by a falling limb from a burning tree and died the next day. A headstone marks the grave sites on the property. Rosedale Station remained in the Little family until approximately 1979. From the late 19th century, closer settlement of Rosedale began with selectors taking up subdivisions of land. Rosedale Provisional School opened on 6 July 1896. On 1 January 1909 it became Rosedale State School. In 1964 a secondary department was added. On Tuesday 13 December 1920 the Rosedale and Tottenham war memorial commemorating the fallen in World War I was unveiled by John Fletcher, the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Port Curtis before a crowd of about 300 people. In 2004, a north-bound tilt train derailed injuring 120 passengers.

Geography

The town is north of the state capital Brisbane and north west of the regional centre of Bundaberg. The town is on the North Coast railway line. Most of the locality is in the Gladstone Region but a small southern part on the shores of Lake Monduran is in the Bundaberg Region. Despite the town itself being in the Gladstone Region local government area, Rosedale is closer to Bundaberg than Gladstone. There has been some interest in the Rosedale community regarding breaking away from the Gladstone Region. In the east of the locality are the Littabella Conservation Park (which extends into neighbouring Watalgan) and the Littabella National Park (which extends into neighbouring Waterloo and Monduran). In the south-east of the locality is the Monduran State Forest which extends into neighbouring Monduran.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  1,926
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  1,880
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,708
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,606
• Red-backed Fairywren

  Malurus melanocephalus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,264
• Pied Butcherbird

  Cracticus nigrogularis (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  1,140
• Golden-headed Cisticola

  Cisticola exilis (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  1,093
• Blue-faced Honeyeater

  Entomyzon cyanotis (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  1,020

Most recent

• M 4.9 — 2015-02-15
  42 km N of Mundubbera, Australia
• M 4.4 — 2004-01-16
  27 km SE of Monto, Australia